The Texanist: Why Is El Paso Known as El Chuco?
A San Antonio man wonders how Sun City got its other nickname and learns about the nicknames of many other Texas cities.
El Paso
Where To Stay Now
September 9, 2021
El Paso’s Hotel Renaissance Beckons Visitors Downtown
Where to stay, eat, shop, and play in this borderland city that’s rich in architectural wonders and divine dining.
Tacos
August 2, 2021
The Socorro and San Elizario Taco Trail
A historic road outside El Paso teems with under-the-radar taco stops.
State of Mind
July 28, 2021
State of Mind, Episode 7: Finding Home in El Paso
Katie Nodjimbadem on how she was shaped by her family's unlikely choice to make a home in the Chihuahuan Desert.
Tacos
July 22, 2021
Farewell to El Paso’s H&H Car Wash and Coffee Shop
At this old-school spot, you could get your dusty pickup washed while munching on a taco or an omelet.
News & Politics
July 19, 2021
With Excess Doses, El Paso Is Giving the Vaccine to Mexican Truckers Crossing the Border
As El Paso tries to avoid a new COVID-19 wave, most Juárez residents can't travel into the States for the jab.
Tacos
November 18, 2020
The El Paso Taco Trail
A roundup of the city's best offerings, from beefy burritos to modernist cuisine.
Health
November 17, 2020
El Paso Natives Face a Holiday Season Far From Home as Their City Suffers
For those who hail from the COVID-19 hot spot, isolation from family this Thanksgiving and Christmas is especially painful.
Border & Immigration
November 6, 2020
El Paso’s COVID-19 Spike Is a Binational Problem
Leaders on both sides of the Rio Grande claim border crossings, an aspect of daily life in the region, have contributed to the recent surge in infections.
Border & Immigration
June 25, 2020
We Didn’t Think We Would Live in El Paso Permanently. It Became Home.
The border city treated my family with care and invited us to find community there.
Tacos
June 22, 2020
Licon Dairy Has Made Cheese for Sixty Years Along El Paso’s Mission Trail
This San Elizario family business, which specializes in queso asadero, started in a home kitchen and now has fans around the country.
BBQ
June 15, 2020
A Century Ago, an Intense Barbecue Rivalry Pitted El Pasoans Against One Another
It was most likely the first Texas barbecue dispute to end up in court.
Books
January 22, 2020
A Ross Thomas Adaptation Rethinks the Border Noir
'Briarpatch,' a new show on USA Network, portrays a West Texas rarely seen on TV.
Books
December 2, 2019
Chef Aarón Sánchez Hasn’t Forgotten His Texas Roots
The El Paso native and celebrity chef is coming home in support of his new memoir, ‘Where I Come From.’
Music
October 19, 2018
Khalid Is Still Very Much Representing El Paso on His New ‘Suncity’ EP
The pop star, forever from the city of the 915, releases his new EP.
Film & TV
August 9, 2018
The Real ‘BlacKkKlansman’ Is a Texan
The film from Spike Lee and Jordan Peele is based on the experiences of El Pasoan Ron Stallworth.
BBQ Joint Reviews
July 12, 2018
El Paso’s Desert Oak Barbecue Has Come a Long Way
Three large red letters caught my eye at a busy intersection in El Paso, and I knew I’d found the new home for Desert Oak Barbecue. “BBQ” is the only thing written above the door, but it stands out amid the strip center clutter. It’s a big step up from
Border & Immigration
June 20, 2018
El Paso County Sheriff Prohibits Staff From Moonlighting at Tornillo Tent City for Children
The move by Sheriff Richard Wiles marks a growing chorus of local law enforcement across Texas that is critical of the federal family separation policy.
Reporter
June 5, 2018
The Confrontation on the Bridge, and a New Tactic in the War Against Immigrants
Last weekend, border agents turned away legal asylum-seekers on the U.S.-Mexico border. In a ‘Texas Monthly Reporter’ podcast, reporter Robert Moore discusses this tactic and its effect on those being turned away.
News & Politics
May 22, 2018
UT–El Paso President Announces Retirement After 30 Years at the Helm
Diana Natalicio is believed to be the longest serving president of a public university in the country.
Film & TV
April 20, 2018
‘Home + Away’ Shows How Sports Help Students Overcome the Realities of the Border
The film captures the lives of three student-athletes in El Paso and the dual nature of the U.S.–Mexico border.
Border & Immigration
April 13, 2018
Is it a Border Wall or a Fence or a Barrier?
As construction begins for Trump’s project near El Paso, debate turns to nomenclature instead of immigration.
Style & Design
February 6, 2018
A Family’s Dream Mountain Home in El Paso
Every room has a spectacular view in this ultramodern house that makes the most of its surroundings.
Travel & Outdoors
October 19, 2017
Next Time You Travel in Texas, Stay in a Hostel
For an affordable stay in a new city, with built-in friends.
Politics & Policy
August 11, 2017
DC2DQ: Will Hurd’s Road Trip for Survival
Republican congressman is among the most vulnerable in the nation.
Texas Trip Guides
April 19, 2017
Trip Guide: El Paso
In our westernmost city, cultural boundaries are as fluid as the Rio Grande.
Border & Immigration
March 1, 2017
Advocates Say There Could be a ‘Chilling Effect’ After ICE Agents Detained a Woman at Protective Order Court
The “unprecedented” arrest has the potential to further marginalize vulnerable members of the immigrant community.
Music
January 21, 2016
Wormed Their Way Through Distant Earth: On The At The Drive-In Reunion
After a short run of festival dates in 2012, the El Paso rock heroes return with new music and a world tour.
BBQ Joint Reviews
November 20, 2015
Desert Oak Barbecue
Back in April, I gave El Paso some tough love. I had tried and failed to find good barbecue there, and I wrote about my futile search in an article called “BBQ in Far West Texas? I’ll Paso.” With a headline like that, it’s no surprise that the piece resulted in
Health
August 20, 2015
El Paso’s Abortion Clinic Can Reopen, At Least For Now
Reproductive Services will become the first shuttered clinic to reopen its doors after HB2, but its future is still unclear.
Music
July 23, 2015
Spotify Charts The Favorite Songs of Texas Cities, & It Isn’t Surprising At All
The music sharing service shows how little Dallas and Houston have in common, how Austin loves critical darlings, and how much Aggies love Aggies.
The Daily Post
June 10, 2015
What Should Austin and El Paso Do With the Streets Named “Bruce Jenner Lane”?
Neighborhoods in both Austin and El Paso have subdivisions with streets named after famous Olympians—including the 1976 Decathlon gold medalist who earned that medal when she went by the name “Bruce Jenner.” What do you do with those streets now that she’s living as Caitlyn?
The Daily Post
May 20, 2015
There Is Video of Sgt. James Brown’s Final Moments in an El Paso Jail
“I can’t breathe.” Yet again.
Music
April 14, 2015
El Paso Police Are in Trouble for Making a Super Cool Music Video
More like the fun police, are we right?
BBQ
April 14, 2015
BBQ in Far West Texas? I’ll Paso
On January 18, 1910, a newspaper advertisement for Watson’s Grocery included “Smoked Brisket Beef” for thirty cents per pound. It’s the earliest advertisement for smoked brisket that I have found in Texas, and it was in El Paso. With such a long history of smoking briskets you’d think they would
BBQ
April 13, 2015
Brisket Hash in El Paso
They’ve been smoking briskets over mesquite since Tony’s The Pit Bar-B-Q opened in 1958. Tony Vargas Sr. started the place, but according to Martha Vargas, it was her husband Tony Vargas Jr. that’s responsible for its most famous menu item – brisket hash.Mrs. Vargas recited the ingredient list without hesitation
The Culture
March 18, 2015
The Good Son
Returning to El Paso and finding that you can’t go home again. Or maybe you can.
Food & Drink
March 13, 2015
Chico and the Postman
Mail-order tacos.
Film & TV
February 27, 2015
Who Owns Texas City Names on Twitter
If you want to reach out to the city of @Austin, you’d better look at @AustinTexasGov. If you’re looking for @Dallas, check out @1500Marilla. So who owns the more logical Twitter usernames for Texas cities?
Film & TV
February 17, 2015
El Paso Bishop Says That Going to See “Fifty Shades of Grey” Is a Sin
Catholics who see the racy film may have to get on their knees afterward.
The Daily Post
October 8, 2014
What’s Next For Abortion In Texas?
After the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the injunction issued by a lower court, access to abortion services in Texas are limited to a handful of clinics in just the four largest cities in the state. Is this the new normal?
News & Politics
August 25, 2014
The Long Road to Asylum
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in El Paso stand accused of violating the confidentiality of dozens of Sikh asylum seekers detained in their facility.
Music
July 11, 2014
WATCH: Exclusive Premiere of El Paso Indie Rockers Avindale’s Video For “Azure”
The El Paso indie rockers bring their ringing guitars to a room stuffed with balloons.
News & Politics
July 10, 2014
Asylum Politics
Why did dozens of Sikh detainees in a federal facility in El Paso go on hunger strike in April?
Music
June 25, 2014
How To Survive As An Austin Rock Club For Four Decades
The "Live Music Capital of the World" is also a live music venue cemetery. The University of Texas-area bar Hole in the Wall is an exception.
The Daily Post
June 17, 2014
Austin and El Paso Would Both Like to Have Major League Soccer Teams
World Cup fever is spreading!
Food & Drink
April 16, 2014
A Summer Weekend in El Paso
One family’s journey into enchanted enchilada land.
The Culture
April 8, 2014
True Colors
As a teenager I thought a quick paint job would help my family blend in to our white suburban neighborhood. Now I'm glad it wasn't that simple.
The Daily Post
January 15, 2014
What’s The Point Of This Weird Lotto/Taxicab Scam Someone Is Attempting In El Paso?
It would be frightening if it weren't so weird, dumb, and ineffective: A new scam that attempts to prey on the elderly involves calling people up, telling them they've won the lottery, and then sending a cab to their house. The big flaw? No one has of yet gotten into
Books
December 1, 2013
Best-Selling Gay Novel Turns Fifty
John Rechy, whose novel "City of Night" was wildly successful when it was published in 1963, grew up during the Depression, the youngest of five children born to a Mexican family in El Paso.